


Sweet Gen

by will_conqueror1



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Song fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 23:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12156681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/will_conqueror1/pseuds/will_conqueror1
Summary: Oz triggers a memory from Giles’ past, and of a woman he once thought he’d spend his life with.





	Sweet Gen

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Giles-Shorts writing community. The prompt for the week was The Velvet Underground. The song this fic was inspired by is "Sweet Jane" by The Velvet Underground. 
> 
> Timeline: Season 4 “The Harsh Light of Day”, when Oz is looking through Giles’ record collection.
> 
> This is also a companion to my Chronicles of Ripper series, which I’ve often said I try very hard to keep canon compliant. You don’t need to read the series for this short story to make sense.

“Okay, either I’m borrowing all your albums or I’m moving in.” Oz said from his place on the floor thumbing through Giles’ collection of vinyl.

“Oz, there are more important things than records right now.” Giles admonished, not bothering to look up from his research.

“More important than this one?” Oz asked, holding the record up for Giles to see The Velvet Underground’s  _ Loaded _ .

Giles looked up, pausing for a moment, distracted by a memory flooding back to him.

* * *

 

**Flashback**

**London, December 25th, 1985**

“Happy Christmas, Rupert.” Genevieve said, looking at her fiancé nervously as he started to unwrap her gift. Hat she bought him wasn’t as expensive as the earrings he’d gifted her, but she had put a considerable amount of time and thought into it. 

He sat in stunned silence when he uncovered the the present. He looked over at Genevieve and grinned. “This is… perfect.” He told her honestly, leaning over to place a chaste kiss on her lips. “How did you know?” 

To say their taste in music differed was an understatement. She put up with it when he had it on, but she couldn’t tell the difference between Pink Floyd and The Who. 

“I do actually listen when you speak to me, Ru.” She teased him. “Also, I went to your usual place and when I asked the gentleman at the counter what he thought you’d appreciate most this was what he suggested, and he told me you didn’t have it yet.”

His jaw dropped. “You went… Alone? Bloody hell, Gen, that’s not exactly the safest area to do your shopping.” There were record stores much closer to their flat, but he usually ventured to his old neighborhood where he knew the staff.

She rolled her eyes. “Just say ‘thank you,’ Rupert.”

He grinned. “Thank you, Rupert.”

She laughed and gave his arm a playful slap. “You’re welcome.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “And I know you want to put it on, so go ahead, I’m going to shower before we meet with my father.”

He watched her walk toward the bathroom before getting up and carefully replacing her Christmas themed album with the one she’d just given him. 

He turned the sleeve over to see the song lineup. He grinned when he saw what the second song was. He heard the shower start and he suddenly had an idea. He cranked up the volume and walked across the flat toward the closed bathroom door, stripping himself of his clothes along the way.

When he entered the bathroom, steam poured out and he left the door open so they could hear the music as he climbed into the shower behind his fiancée. She turned and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. 

The chorus to “Sweet Jane” started and he started singing along, only instead he changed the name so he was singing “Sweet Gen.”

They both chuckled as the next verse started, holding onto each other, and when the chorus started up again they both sang loudly, so all they could really hear was each other. 

**End Flashback**

* * *

 

Fifteen years later and it was still one of the best Christmases he could remember. And while the album itself was truly a work of art, it was the memory of who bought it for him that gave it value. “I suppose an argument could be made for--”

“Whoa, Giles has a TV. Everybody, Giles has a TV. He's shallow like us.”


End file.
